Membership Has Its Privileges #caprsa

I had the pleasure of spending the day with some of the brightest and most talented leaders in the public relations industry today. As a member of the Executive Committee of the Counselors Academy of PRSA, I have the distinct honor and privilege of sitting around the table (and around the bar last night) with some of the best public relations strategists and business people I’ve had the pleasure to meet. While they hail from a variety of practice settings, specialty areas and locations around the continent, they share a number of common characteristics — they are all insightful counselors, successful business owners and principals and all-around good people. Perhaps the most important trait they share, though, is a burning desire to give back not only to the profession as a whole but to individuals practitioners who comprise it.This hit home when I reflected on the past three months of my career. When my previous employer, The Catevo Group, shut its doors on Friday, November 13 this past year (and yes, closing on Friday the 13th was ridiculously ironic), I was able to tell my clients that I would open for business and ready to serve them on the following Monday in large measure because of my years in the Academy. Over the past decade, I’ve been fortunate in being able to interact with and learn from smart people who founded, managed and sold successful counseling firms. And while I knew I had picked up great tips for client service, new business development and the like from CA’s Spring Conferences and e-Group, I don’t think I had truly processed how much knowledge I had absorbed about how to be a successful entrepreneur from the start. Since Catevo dissolved, my partner and I have established our firm, Forge Communications (www.forgecommunications.com), and quickly built a strong presence in our market and with our clients (seven at last count). That would not have been possible without my experience in Counselors Academy.

If you’re looking to build your current agency — or you want to be sure that you’re ready, willing and able to build a successful agency at the drop of a hat — I strongly advise you to join Counselors Academy (www.counselors.org). It’s true, folks; membership has its privileges.